“By wanting to be too politically correct you can go sometimes against tradition,” Wenger added.

“In this case, I think that is part of the English culture that I love. They respect tradition and they respect people who have given their life for the country.”

The poppy is worn in the weeks up to and around Remembrance Day on 11 November to remember British and Commonwealth armed forces who died in World War One and later conflicts.

Fifa’s secretary general Fatma Samba Diouf Samoura is meeting with the four home football associations at Wembley Stadium on Thursday and the issue could be discussed on the sidelines, says BBC sports news correspondent Richard Conway.

Samoura has told BBC Sport “any kind of sanction” could follow if Fifa’s rules are breached.

English FA chief executive Martin Glenn told BBC Sport that players from both sides will break Fifa rules and wear armbands carrying the red poppy symbol “as a point of principle”.

The Scottish Football Association, meanwhile, told BBC Sport it is prepared to challenge any Fifa sanction imposed for its players wearing armbands.

Former England defender Danny Mills earlier told BBC Radio 5 live the row over poppies is overshadowing the meaning of the occasion.

Mills, 39, said one solution could have been players wearing temporary tattoos on their hands.

“If the players are that insistent on wearing poppies, they should get a temporary tattoo, stick it on the back of their hand and, when the national anthems are played, put your hand on your heart and it’s there for everybody to see.

“Fifa cannot stop that. It’s no different than having a normal tattoo.